Geography
Aragoth Geography - Land The world of Aragoth is fictional place; it is home to three known continents connected by multiple land bridges at certain sections of them. The 3 continents previously mentioned are named as followed, Sanam in the westernmost reaches of the world, Arathos in the mid regions taking up most of the known world (Apart from oceans) and Zenloria in the far south and in the far east, it extends into regions that have never been charted. Each continent houses its own unique peoples, environments and climates along with an assortment of other factors. The people of the world believe it to be flat and as of 398 N.D. any other continents are unknown. 'Sanam' 'Arathos' 'Zenloria' Geography - Water Apart from land masses several oceans cover the world. The major ones are separated into the Frost Maul in the far north , the Sea of Night in the far west and the Sunar Ocean in the far southeast. 'The Frost Maul' The Frost Maul is the ocean that covers the northern portion of the world. It is perpetually cold and blizzards and storms are a common occurance all year long. Its outskirts are home to a few trade routes during the summer months, but even then ships traversing this coastline are few and far between. Deeper north the sea is covered in thousands of ice bergs that make travel dangerous all year round, this region is known as the ice fields, at the northernmost point ice caps tower hundreds of feet about the water preventing any further travel. Generally the only people willing to brave this far north are whalers out of Bormos, Targon or the Dwarven port cities, but even they rarely stray to far into the ice fields. "You open your eyes long enough to look out and you’re blinded for the next half an hour, but if you don’t and you hit a berg... you won’t even have time to wish you had looked, the water will kill you before you can.” -Unknown Sailor "The walls towered above our ship, a thousand feet upwards they loomed and chunks of ice the size of city blocks fell from its unseen heights sending waves that could topple a ship if you steered to close." -Konros Thorman, when his ship approached the ice caps. 'The Sea of Night' The Sea of Night resides in the far western portion of the world. It primarily borders Sanam, but at its farthest south it touches the coasts of western Zenloria. All year round it is dark due to a thick layer of cloud that covers the skies. Sunlight rarely reaches to far westwards and eventually total darkness takes over and travel becomes near impossible. The few ships that travel westwards beyond Sanam rarely return, those that do only report that they turned back when total blackness began to consume everything. At its northern most point it borders the Frost Maul, this leads to ice bergs regularly floating south, this tied with the almost absolute darkness make travel in the north impossible. In its south it stretches into the unexplored western coasts of Zenloria, further south it continues into a dark and foreboding realm that remains unknown. No cities border the sea and sea trade is almost never even thought of for the few towns that reside along the western coasts of Armoria. For this same reason piracy is also not an issue, for there is very little worth stealing in the seas of always night. "Black as night and cold as the grave, bergs float inches from the ship and you wouldn’t know it until you stuck your hand out and touched it." -Konros Thorman, as his ship sailed down the northwest coast of Sanem. "Jorgos Brackin fell into the dark waters and before he could cry out he was sucked into the deeps by an unknown creature, strange things lurk out in the darkness, be thankful our gods protect you heathen." -Sanem dark shaman, when asked about the Sea of Night. 'The Sunar Ocean' The Sunar Sea takes up the large body of water in the south eastern portion of the known world. It divides Zenloria in two and is crossable at its northernmost point in the Peleg islands. North of it lies Outriders Gulf and to its south lies the exotic lands of Niijon and Wiri, its easternmost border remains uncharted. The ocean is filled with trade routes carrying an assortment of cargoes; it offers many of the Sunar-Zenlorian nation’s access to the lucrative trade waters of Outriders gulf while also allowing for protection from the expanding Niijon and Wiri kingdoms, via frequent tropical storms during half of the year. Pirates and slavers patrol the eastern sector of the ocean looking for the few travelers that make the voyage eastwards into Tiberia and Plutong. "The sea is not a danger to those who travel south, but stray into the east and you will face pirates, slavers, cannibals and worse." - Heras Tapasph Priestess of Rapateph in Numari. "The Niijon Empress sent sixty war ships to take this city, every one of them now lies at the bottom of my bay and all I had to do was wait until it rained." - King Rasmo of Sunas, when presented with a declaration of war from the Gurgen Queens of Arapos. "Waters blue, skies blue, fish are blue, even some of the ships are blue." - Unknown Sea Captain 'Lesser Waters' Apart from these, several smaller bodies of water make up the world, they are as listed 'Outriders Gulf' The central body of water between Arathos and Zenloria, several trade routes span it linking either continent. It is a warm water region and winters affect only its very northern section. In the far north it is halted at the Bleak Strait and beyond this is the Frost Maul. In its west it borders the Bay of Storn and beyond this the Sea of Night and the Grey Sea. In the South it is bordered by the Sunar Ocean. 'The Bay of Storn' The Bay of Storn resides just off the coast of the principality of Storn, it is plagued by storms that flow down out of the mountains to the north and serves as a trade route between Sanam and Outriders Gulf. In the west it borders The Sea of Night and the Grey Sea. In the East it is halted by Outriders Gulf. Its southern and northern borders are coastal regions of both Arathos and Zenloria. 'The Grey Sea' The Grey Sea is a small sea that separates Sanam from Arathos. It is subject to the cold storms and winds that flow south out of the Frost Maul during the winter months. Every major port within Sanam borders on this sea and it serves as the most western spot on every trade route. Its south it is covered in small islands known as the Shutter that connect it to Arathos. Beyond the Shutter the waters either split into the Bay of Storn or south west into the Sea of Night. It north is dominated by the Frost Maul and very few trade routes continue into the frozen sea. Although it is possible for ships traverse the northern sea and exit on the opposite side of Arathos and come out at the Bleak Strait, very few traders choose this path for its dangerous conditions. 'The Bleak Strait' The Bleak Strait is a narrow strait that separates northern Arathos from northern Zenloria. It is often difficult to pass through during the winter months due to massive the amount of ice bergs flowing south out of the Frost maul. At its southern most point it flows through the port city of Bormos before flowing south into Outriders Gulf. Mountains cover both coasts of the passage keeping any settlements from developing in its cold domain, Dwarven cities however open up at its most northern point allowing for some sea trade further south. 'The Bay of Sunar' The Bay of Sunar is the large bay that makes up a significant portion of the Sunar Ocean. It separates Outriders Gulf from the open waters of the Sunar Ocean and houses the port of Sunas, the largest city in Zenloria. All trade between Outriders Gulf and the Sunar Ocean passes through the bay and this has led to incredible wealth for the cities that lie on the bays shores. At its most northern point it connects into Outriders gulf through the Peleg island chain. 'Winters Passage' Winters Passage refers to the narrow passage of water that separates Arathos from the island of Shochelm in the northwest. It is usually impassable due to the clusters of ice bergs that gather in it, it is littered with the wreckage of destroyed ships that tried to journey through it and failed. The few ships that have successfully passed through it have emerged battered and in need of costly repairs. 'Khaldum's Lake' Khladum's Lake is one of the largest lakes in the known world. It resides far up in the Frostback mountains of Arathos and was formed by the melting of a glacier. It serves as a source of water for most of the Dwarven cities and derives its name from the Dwarven explorer Khaldum Dhan who successfully charted the entire lake in 233 N.D. along with his crew of 23 dwarves. The lake winds its way between the large mountains and is about 320m at its deepest. 'Gheerak's Spill' Gheerak's Spill is the longest river in the known world and runs out of the Old Mountains of northern Zenloria and into Outriders Gulf. Its name is derived from the Orcish god Gheerak, who according to their mythology died somewhere in the east and the river is the one of the last streams of his blood draining into the sea. The river and the surrounding lands are home to both sub human races the Orcs and the Imps. The Orcs generally live in the grassy hill country that borders the north side of the river, whereas the Imps live further east in the mountains deep within valleys and in underground caverns. Trade along the river is restricted to a few orcish riverboats that serve to transport what few goods are produced among the villages down river to the Bormosi port city of Helen. The lands surrounding Gheerak's spill are some of the most sparsely populated areas in all of Aragoth and beyond Helen very few settlements of men exist. 'Roth and Rois' Roth and Rois are two twin rivers that split from an unnamed mountain river, said river flows from the Frostback Mountains at their most southern point. They separate the Kingdom of Armoria from the Principality of Storn and serve as a water source for much of the people in the region. The area between the two rivers is officially under neither monarchies control and is ruled by a council of lords from the few small castles that remain in the region. In times of war they usually side with one monarchy or the other and when in peace are referred to simply as the Crosslands. Although no proper city resides in the Crosslands, both Storn and Arnoria have cities built along either rivers length. In the north the Arnorian cities of Tydol and Asurn stand near the mouth of the river Rois and in the south the Stornish city of Greyrock resides where the two rivers split. 'Stoan' Stoan is the name given to the river that runs through northern Armoria and into the northern portion of the Grey Sea. It runs largely within the uninhabited mountain valleys and serves little relevance to the people of Armoria. Despite this however its size makes it one of the larger rivers in the world. 'Ashenya' Ashenya is considered by many to be the mightiest and largest river in the world. It runs out of one of the glacial lakes deep in the Frostbacks and flows into Outriders Gulf. The once great city of Balainis rests at her mouth and still serves as a trade hub in the Gulf to this day. The remnants of the Arasoth Empire rely on her for much of its trade and many ships use her as a means to reach settlements further inland. Its name is derived from the Arasothian goddess of water.